BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Fort Washington Park -- Visitor Center

MD -- Fort Washington Park -- Visitor Center:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. FTWASC_121223_015.JPG: Fort Warburton: 1808-1812. In 1808, following the recommendation of George Washington, construction began on a fort here at Digges Point to protect the Potomac River approach to the Nation's capital.
2. FTWASC_121223_019.JPG: Destruction of the Fort: The War of 1812. In August 1814 the British launched a two-pronged attack on Washington, DC. The main force of 4370 men marched overland from Benedict, Maryland, and burned the White House and other government buildings on August 24. Meanwhile, six British ships moved up the Potomac. As they approach Fort Warburton on the 27th, the fort's commander withdrew his 57-man garrison and blew the powder magazine, destroying the fort.
3. FTWASC_121223_032.JPG: Defense of Washington: 1815-1860. Fort Warburton's replacement was begun immediately and completed in 1824. During the 1840s, the landslide wall was strengthened and the first 30 cannon mounted. A peacetime garrison of 40 to 50 men was normal, but a reduction in Army strength in the early 1850s forced the fort into a caretaker status. For the remainder of the decade, the sole occupant of the fort was the post ordnance sergeant, Joseph Cameron.
4. FTWASC_121223_034.JPG: The Civil War Era: 1861-1872. In January 1861, a company of US Recruits regarrisoned the fort in response to the threat of war. Over the next five months, troops of the Regular Army and Pennsylvania Militia reinforced the garrison; by May, 316 soldiers were stationed in the fort and 52 cannon mounted. In the course of the war, troops from six states saw service at the fort. When peace returned, two companies of the 4th US Artillery manned the fort until it returned to caretaker status in 1872.
5. FTWASC_121223_042.JPG: 24 pound siege and garrison mortar
6. FTWASC_121223_055.JPG: Headquarters, Defenses of the Potomac: 1891-1921. The thirty years that spanned the Spanish-American War and World War I saw the expansion of the fort to its present boundaries. By 1903 modern guns in eight new concrete gun emplacements, supporting minefields in the river, and a Coast Artillery garrison guaranteed an effective defense for the Nation's capital.
7. FTWASC_121223_071.JPG: The Steps to War: War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War: The War of 1812 arose from disputes -- over the rights of neutrals at sea rights, American ideas of citizenship, and westward expansion in North America -- set against the background of constant war between France and Great Britain. Britain ruled the sea and France dominated Europe; each took aim at neutral US merchant ships to hurt the other. The British also outraged US citizens by pressing American sailors into its navy, claiming them as subjects. Even frontier Americans resented Britain for her Indian alliances, which create[d] a barrier to expansion. In response to these affronts, real and imagined, and the increasing pressure of a sizable pro-war party, President James Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war on Great Britain on 18 June 1812. "The final step ought to be taken; and that step is WAR." -- Henry Clay, "War Should be Declared," Washington National Intelligence, 1812
8. FTWASC_121223_074.JPG: New Missions, 1921-1946: The 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry, which served as the Honor Guard for Washington DC, occupied Fort Wasington [sic] in 1921, ending post's Coast Artillery role. World War II brought another use for the post when, from 1942 to 1945, it was home to the Adjutant General Corps Officer Candidate School, training personnel for administrative duties in the Army. At the end of the war, the post was closed and transferred to the National Park Service.
9. FTWASC_121223_084.JPG: The rectangular can stored sardines. The gold label states Burguin Sardines, AL Huile Port Louis Morritan. The round can may have held fruits or vegetables.
10. FTWASC_121223_086.JPG: Commercial canning began in the country in 1819 when William Underwood canned fruit in Boston and Thomas Kensett canned seafood in New York. Both of these canners used glass. Six years later, Thomas Kensett was granted a patent for preserving food in tin vessels. However, the use of metal cans was not recorded until 1839 when both Underwood and Kensett made the switch to tin because of rising prices of glass. During the Civil War, canned foods were used for troop rations. The can was made by hand. The body was bent into shape on a roller and the overlapping edges were soldered together. Two round disks were cut for the ends. The disks were bent down and soldered to the body. Sardine cans made before 1880 were made into three pieces ad [sic -- and] soldered. Post 1880 cans had the base and body formed as one piece.
11. FTWASC_121223_091.JPG: Brigadier General Joseph Able Haskins, 1818-1874
12. FTWASC_121223_100.JPG: On Land and Sea: War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War: The US Marines served with distinction in the War of 1812, in all the celebrated naval actions and major land battles. At sea, Marines kept order and served as sharpshooters; ashore, they guarded naval bases. Their most memorable sea actions included the loss of USS Chesapeake, where the Marines resisted to the bitter end, and the duel between USS Wasp and Reindeer, where the Marines' musketry turned the tide. In the climactic campaigns of 1814, Marines served with distinction alongside soldiers and militia defending Washington, Baltimore, and New Orleans. Valiant in victory and defeat, they set a shining example everywhere. Although rarely numbering a hundred men at any one post, the US Marines served in every theater of the war, on both land and sea, and left a proud legacy for today's servicemen and women. "The... Marines... promised all that could be expected from a cool intrepidity, and a high state of discipline." -- Letter from Secretary of the Navy Jones to Congressman Richard M. Johnson, 3 October 1813
13. FTWASC_121223_104.JPG: Upon the Coasts: War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War: Before the US established the Navy, the Treasury Department's Revenue Cutter Service watched its shores. During the War of 1812, the Service did inshore patrol duty, freeing the Navy's ships for blue-water cruises. Several of the Service's cutter crews distinguished themselves in combat during the war. In fact, the honor of capturing the first enemy ship fell to the cutter Thomas Jefferson in June of 1812. "Your gallant and desperate attempt... excited such admiration..." -- Letter from Lieutenant John Crerie, Royal Navy, to Captain Travis, US Revenue Cutter Service, 1813 The next year, the cutter Vigilant captured a famous British privateer off Rhode Island, while the cutter Eagle fought to the last ounce of powder against a [sic] two larger British warships, before escaping overland. A century after its display of dedication and courage in the War of 1812, the Revenue Cutter Service was converted into the US Coast Guard, which continues its proud traditions today.
14. FTWASC_121223_109.JPG: Postwar Times: War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War: Peace negotiations began in the Netherlands in late 1814. Aided by the American victories at Plattsburgh and Baltimore, US diplomats signed the Treaty of Ghent, which dictated a return to the status quo ante bellum, the state before the war. Fighting the world's leading empire to a draw brought international acclaim to the United States, especially to the Navy. Congress voted to expand the Navy shortly after the peace, to ensure future national security. Moreover, the War of 1812 gave Americans a sense of destiny; that the United States and its unique freedoms were meant not only to endure but to shine before the whole world. "... in a short time the nation became a young Hercules in their eyes." -- Reverend George Jones, Sketches of Naval Life, 1829
15. FTWASC_121223_115.JPG: War on the Sea: War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War: Facing numerical odds of 20 to 1, the US Navy initially took advantage of Britain's commitments fighting France, and won a series of ship-to-ship duels in 1812. By the next year, the British used their superior numbers to blockade American ports, trapping much of the Navy in home waters. By 1814, however, several US ships had broken free, and fought duels from Britain to the Pacific. "We had retired from the combat with the stripes yet bleeding on our backs." -- London Times, 30 December 1814 Alone and on the run, the remaining American warships plagued British shipping. They took more than 500 enemy merchantmen and drove up prices in already war-weary Britain. By 1815, the US Navy had achieved greatness wholly out of proportion to its size, stunned the world, and upheld American resolve until an honorable peace was won.
16. FTWASC_121223_120.JPG: War At Home War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War: War in the territories of the United States, bound by inland waterways, required close cooperation between military and naval forces. The strategic focus of both sides was the US-Canadian border, a vast and bountiful wilderness with few defenses. Though American generals expected great conquests at the border, only the British made real gains. The deteriorating land war stabilized when US Navy squadrons won total victories on the Great Lakes. Commitments in the Canadian theater left other regions under-defended. By 1814, British amphibious forces were poised for a knockout blow aimed at Washington, Baltimore, and New Orleans. Wherever the British landed, the Navy was there to share in the defense, along with Army and militia forces. Unable to break American resolve, the British sought a diplomatic solution, concluding with peace in 1815. "We have met the enemy and they are ours..." -- Dispatch from Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry to Major General William Henry Harrison, 1813
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Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Military (Non-Events)] [Park (National Park Service)] [War of 1812] [Display ALL War of 1812 photos]
2012 photos: Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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